14th Annual IHSA Officials Conference Set For This Weekend in Peoria Area

Thursday

Jul 18, 2013 at 10:41 AMJul 18, 2013 at 10:41 AM

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) will hold its 14th annual Officials Conference on Friday and Saturday, 19-20 in Peoria and East Peoria. The event will unfold at the East Peoria Embassy Suites and the Peoria Civic Center. The theme of this year’s conference is “Sportsmanship. It Starts With Us.”

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) will hold its 14th annual Officials Conference on Friday and Saturday, 19-20 in Peoria and East Peoria. The event will unfold at the East Peoria Embassy Suites and the Peoria Civic Center. The theme of this year’s conference is “Sportsmanship. It Starts With Us.”

The Officials Conference is expected to draw over 500 IHSA officials to the Peoria area, where they will team with other officials to contribute in general & sport-specific workshops, reflect on their experiences to help teach others and participate in networking activities.

Walk-up registration is welcome for any official who does not register in advance. The official conference program can be viewed by clicking here.

“We are one of the few high school state associations in the country who have an official’s education program of this magnitude,” said IHSA Assistant Executive Director Craig Anderson. “We have worked very hard on the Officials Conference curriculum and offerings. Our goal is to improve the event each year by adding new and relevant topics and speakers. We look forward to another successful event in 2013.”

The conference begins Friday with educational sessions for IHSA officials serving as Clinicians and also features a golf outing at Quail Meadows Golf Course in East Peoria on Friday morning. Following conference registration, Friday evening features a workshop for first-time officials in all sports and an opening session that will honor all of the state final officials from the 2012-13 school year. The opening session concludes with keynote speaker Dr. Marty Hickman, as the IHSA’s Executive Director reflects on his experiences from over 20 years at the IHSA, as well as working with officials as a sport administrator in 10 different sports.

“This conference is an event I look forward to every summer,” said Centralia native Robert Smith, a four-sport IHSA official. “It is an excellent chance to learn from other officials and share ideas, as well as to network and simply have fun reflecting on the great experiences we have had on the field, court and diamond through the year as officials.”

Saturday will be comprised of over 40 breakout sessions in 11 IHSA sports, ranging from topics such as “Softball Interference and Obstruction”, “Roundtable On Working With Athletic Directors” and “10 Things You Can Do Tomorrow To Make Yourself A Better Official”.

The 2013 IHSA Officials Conference culminates with a reception and awards program early Saturday evening. The honorees include officials who reached milestone years of service (15 years, 25, 30, 40, 50) and the IHSA Officials of the Year (listed below).

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